* Ada a fourth generation language? @ 2002-04-28 17:06 John 2002-04-28 17:27 ` Nick Roberts 2002-04-28 19:58 ` James Baker 0 siblings, 2 replies; 9+ messages in thread From: John @ 2002-04-28 17:06 UTC (permalink / raw) I will follow a course in ada this summer and I heard that it was a fourth generation language. Is it true and if so, what does it mean exactely? Thank you. ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 9+ messages in thread
* Re: Ada a fourth generation language? 2002-04-28 17:06 Ada a fourth generation language? John @ 2002-04-28 17:27 ` Nick Roberts 2002-04-28 17:58 ` Larry Kilgallen ` (2 more replies) 2002-04-28 19:58 ` James Baker 1 sibling, 3 replies; 9+ messages in thread From: Nick Roberts @ 2002-04-28 17:27 UTC (permalink / raw) On Sun, 28 Apr 2002 10:06:02 -0700, "John" <celineg@look.ca> strongly typed: >I will follow a course in ada this summer and I heard that it was a fourth >generation language. Is it true and if so, what does it mean exactely? The ISO standard language Ada 95 is surely a 'third generation' language (3GL), although I don't think it's possible for there to be any really precise definition of these things. My own understanding is as follows. A 3GL is a conventional procedural (imperative) high-level programming language, that follows the basic von Neumann architecture (in terms of having a 'thread' of execution flow, and associated control of that flow). A 4GL is generally the programming language associated with an application program development environment. Typical elements of such an environment include database functionality, user-interface design tools, and (in particular) automated code generation tools. The 4GL is typically designed to accommodate automated code generation, and attuned to the needs of commercial application programs (especially with a view to portability). A 5GL is generally a declarative programming language, that has no explicit notions of flow of execution or control of flow, but is 'goal oriented' and in a way controls its own flow of execution. These languages used to be associated with Artificial Intelligence, but AI has since moved on (leaving them behind). Nevertheless 5GLs have asserted themselves in various areas of application, and continue to evolve. I can only assume that a 2GL is, in essence, an assembly language, and a 1GL is the bare machine code, but I've never seen any explicit reference to this in any of the literature. It is a fact that the earliest electronic programmable computers were programmed by arranging pegs in holes in certain circuit boards. (Programming all 10MB of Internet Explorer would presumably have taken a long time. :-) -- Nick Roberts ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 9+ messages in thread
* Re: Ada a fourth generation language? 2002-04-28 17:27 ` Nick Roberts @ 2002-04-28 17:58 ` Larry Kilgallen 2002-04-28 23:47 ` Robert Dewar 2002-05-25 14:07 ` Robert I. Eachus 2 siblings, 0 replies; 9+ messages in thread From: Larry Kilgallen @ 2002-04-28 17:58 UTC (permalink / raw) In article <3ccc2ba7.138192556@news.cis.dfn.de>, nickroberts@ukf.net (Nick Roberts) writes: > It is a fact that the earliest electronic programmable computers were > programmed by arranging pegs in holes in certain circuit boards. > (Programming all 10MB of Internet Explorer would presumably have taken a > long time. :-) When I read that comment out loud to my wife, she commented that the mechanism of arranging pegs into holes on circuit boards whod have provided sufficient time that the creators could have thought the better of it and produced a program that consumed considerably less than 10 MB. Perhaps it would be sufficient to require all programmers to carry their card deck back and forth to work :-) ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 9+ messages in thread
* Re: Ada a fourth generation language? 2002-04-28 17:27 ` Nick Roberts 2002-04-28 17:58 ` Larry Kilgallen @ 2002-04-28 23:47 ` Robert Dewar 2002-05-25 14:07 ` Robert I. Eachus 2 siblings, 0 replies; 9+ messages in thread From: Robert Dewar @ 2002-04-28 23:47 UTC (permalink / raw) nickroberts@ukf.net (Nick Roberts) wrote in message news:<3ccc2ba7.138192556@news.cis.dfn.de>... 4gl and 5gl languages are not well defined terms, but Nick's definitions are definitely, shall we say, idiosyncratic. I would recommend reading what Jim Martin has to say, after all he coined the term :-) ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 9+ messages in thread
* Re: Ada a fourth generation language? 2002-04-28 17:27 ` Nick Roberts 2002-04-28 17:58 ` Larry Kilgallen 2002-04-28 23:47 ` Robert Dewar @ 2002-05-25 14:07 ` Robert I. Eachus 2 siblings, 0 replies; 9+ messages in thread From: Robert I. Eachus @ 2002-05-25 14:07 UTC (permalink / raw) Nick Roberts wrote: > It is a fact that the earliest electronic programmable computers were > programmed by arranging pegs in holes in certain circuit boards. > (Programming all 10MB of Internet Explorer would presumably have taken a > long time. :-) I'm curious about which computers you had in mind. The ENIAC used rotary switches for programming, but theoretically patch panels for arithmetic constants. (A patch panel is a board with lots of holes, and you insert wires with plugs on them. Individual patch panels can then be stored and swapped.) The reason I say theoretically is that ENIAC had enough electronic registers that it was more efficient to copy any constants into registers which could be accessed much more quickly. The IBM 403 Accounting Machine, and later models used plugboards. See http://www.columbia.edu/acis/history/407.html for photographs of an IBM 407 and someone programming a plugboard. IBM later introduced a "programming language" RPG, which almost directly mapped to the plugboards but was used on real computers like the IBM System/3. There were early computers that used pegboards not wire plugboards for programming. The only one I remember was the Burroughs E101. ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 9+ messages in thread
* Re: Ada a fourth generation language? 2002-04-28 17:06 Ada a fourth generation language? John 2002-04-28 17:27 ` Nick Roberts @ 2002-04-28 19:58 ` James Baker 2002-04-29 13:55 ` Marin David Condic 1 sibling, 1 reply; 9+ messages in thread From: James Baker @ 2002-04-28 19:58 UTC (permalink / raw) Nope it's a bog standard third gen language. Like basic and C. Which means no fancy schmancy object orientated malarky. Good old fashioned coding. for example. with TEXT_IO,BASIC_NUM_IO; use TEXT_IO,BASIC_NUM_IO; procedure TRI2 is -- variables NUMBER,NUMBER1,NUMBER2:integer; CHAR,CHAR1,CHAR2:character; SIZE:positive_count; procedure DATA_INPUT is begin put("Type in the size 1: "); get(NUMBER1); new_line; put("Type in the character 1: "); get(CHAR1); new_line; put("Type in the size 2: "); get(NUMBER2); new_line; put("Type in the character 2: "); get(CHAR2); end; etc etc etc. So if you want 4th gen go to college in russia :P "John" <celineg@look.ca> wrote in message news:uco0dme2v1gic9@corp.supernews.com... > I will follow a course in ada this summer and I heard that it was a fourth > generation language. Is it true and if so, what does it mean exactely? > > Thank you. > > ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 9+ messages in thread
* Re: Ada a fourth generation language? 2002-04-28 19:58 ` James Baker @ 2002-04-29 13:55 ` Marin David Condic 2002-05-01 12:33 ` James Baker 0 siblings, 1 reply; 9+ messages in thread From: Marin David Condic @ 2002-04-29 13:55 UTC (permalink / raw) "James Baker" <James.Baker7@btinternet.com> wrote in message news:aahk8e$qdc$1@knossos.btinternet.com... > > Which means no fancy schmancy object orientated malarky. Good old fashioned > coding. for example. > Why is it you think that Ada is not object oriented? Last I checked, you could use it to do encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphisim, etc., etc. etc. just like any other object oriented language. MDC -- Marin David Condic Senior Software Engineer Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com Enabling the digital revolution e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 9+ messages in thread
* Re: Ada a fourth generation language? 2002-04-29 13:55 ` Marin David Condic @ 2002-05-01 12:33 ` James Baker 2002-05-01 13:48 ` Steve Doiel 0 siblings, 1 reply; 9+ messages in thread From: James Baker @ 2002-05-01 12:33 UTC (permalink / raw) It can do object orientated. But it's not by definition object orientated. Plus the "fancy schmancy object orientated malarky" was a reference to VB :P "Marin David Condic" <dont.bother.mcondic.auntie.spam@[acm.org> wrote in message news:aajjco$4iu$1@nh.pace.co.uk... > "James Baker" <James.Baker7@btinternet.com> wrote in message > news:aahk8e$qdc$1@knossos.btinternet.com... > > > > Which means no fancy schmancy object orientated malarky. Good old > fashioned > > coding. for example. > > > Why is it you think that Ada is not object oriented? Last I checked, you > could use it to do encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphisim, etc., etc. > etc. just like any other object oriented language. > > MDC > -- > Marin David Condic > Senior Software Engineer > Pace Micro Technology Americas www.pacemicro.com > Enabling the digital revolution > e-Mail: marin.condic@pacemicro.com > > ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 9+ messages in thread
* Re: Ada a fourth generation language? 2002-05-01 12:33 ` James Baker @ 2002-05-01 13:48 ` Steve Doiel 0 siblings, 0 replies; 9+ messages in thread From: Steve Doiel @ 2002-05-01 13:48 UTC (permalink / raw) "James Baker" <James.Baker7@btinternet.com> wrote in message news:aaonau$p82$1@knossos.btinternet.com... > It can do object orientated. But it's not by definition object orientated. > Would you describe C++ as object oriented? Both Ada and C++ provide OOP capabilities, but neither require their use. SteveD ^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 9+ messages in thread
end of thread, other threads:[~2002-05-25 14:07 UTC | newest] Thread overview: 9+ messages (download: mbox.gz / follow: Atom feed) -- links below jump to the message on this page -- 2002-04-28 17:06 Ada a fourth generation language? John 2002-04-28 17:27 ` Nick Roberts 2002-04-28 17:58 ` Larry Kilgallen 2002-04-28 23:47 ` Robert Dewar 2002-05-25 14:07 ` Robert I. Eachus 2002-04-28 19:58 ` James Baker 2002-04-29 13:55 ` Marin David Condic 2002-05-01 12:33 ` James Baker 2002-05-01 13:48 ` Steve Doiel
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox